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A
This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash?
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Escape pod episode 1021 Butterside Down Part 1 by Kalem.
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C
Hello and welcome to Escape Pod, your weekly science fiction podcast. I'm Valerie Valdez, your host for this episode. Our story this week is Butterside down by Cal M. This story was originally published in Writers of the Future Volume 40 in 2024. It will be presented in two parts. Cal M is a Malaysian author who writes from the crowded outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. She loves sci fi and fantasy, romance and a good belly laugh. Our narrators for this episode are Eric Valdez, Dominic Rabram, Alistair Stewart and Valerie Valdez. Eric Valdez is a sound mixer, performer and creative human. Like you, he lives with his family in a cozy house made of puns, coffee and chaos. Catch him making up silly songs on Saturdays on Twitch TV, the KidsAreSleep or stare in wonder while he anxiously avoids posting on Bluesky. Ntententenseyeric Dominic Rabrin is an award winning Haitian American multimedia artist and voice actor specializing in short fiction. He's also directing a computer game set during the Haitian Revolution featuring telepaths. Discover more@domrabron.com Alistair Stewart is a professional enthusiast, pop culture analyst, writer and voice actor. He co owns the Escape Artist podcasts and co hosts both Escape Pod and Suit a Pod. Alistair is an Audioverse Award winner, a multiple award finalist including the Hugo, the Ignite and the BFA and has won the Carl Edward Wagner Award twice. He writes the multiple award nominated weekly pop culture newsletter the full lid. Visit alastairstewart.com for all the places he blogs, writes, streams, acts and tweets. Valerie Valdez lives in an elaborate meme palace with her husband and kids where she writes, edits and moonlights as a muse. When she isn't co editing Escape Pod, she enjoys playing video games and admiring the outdoors from the safety of her living room. Now get ready for the power of love to cause a toast of problems cuz it's story time.
- [03:25]
A
Department of Law Enforcement Case File 10023869 United Intergalactic Space Council of Free Sentient Persons Plaintiff vs. Human Joseph Smith Defendant charges Theft of Federal Property, Treason, Breach of contract, Conspiracy to commit murder, Warmongering, Conspiracy to commit Genocide Status decided Verdict Guilty. Sentence? Death. Interview log 100238-690101. Smith, Joseph. Human status? Defendant.
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B
It's not such a crazy situation when you think about it. All I did was fall in love with a toaster. And cause an intergalactic political incident. I don't see why it's such a big deal. It could have happened to anyone.
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A
Yeah.
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B
Alright. Pick a year. Any year. It's hard to put a date on it because universal standard doesn't always work. When you account for jumping through wormholes and light speed and whatnot, time gets wonky. But I'd just reached adulthood when I joined my crew. I couldn't wait to get out into space. It's in the blood, I guess. My whole family ended up spelunking. Besides my sister, she ran off to be an accountant. My parents never got over that. They're traditionalists. So when it came to my turn, they sat me down and. Oh. Too far back. Yeah, okay, sorry. Let me start over. I saw something alive on Zulkar. I don't know how much you've heard about that place, but after the Ako Zukari War, the whole planet turned into a wasteland. It was eerie. Solar crackle and dust storms day in, day out. With nothing to shield you but your exosuit and the skeleton of whatever ruined building you happen to be exploring. I was elbow deep in junk, searching for schematics. That's what we were hired for. The Interspace Council said they wanted this old Zukari agricultural tech called the Malgroth Program. Which they obviously couldn't ask the Zulkhari for themselves on account of them all being dead. So we went looking for clues. One by one. We combed through the ruins of any research labs we could find. It sucked. Six months of nothing. So I was alone one day, sort of just messing around. And that's when it happened. I saw Bredna. Bredna was a toaster. Or some kind of miniature tank. Maybe because someone installed caterpillar tracks on her. For reasons I'm never going to figure out, she was watching me. Insofar as you can be watched by something with no face, I guess. But she knew I was there. She skittered off when I noticed. Obviously. I chased her. Caught her just as she fell off the edge of a step with her wobbly tracks spinning like crazy. I decided right there that I loved her. I didn't have a choice. You don't find a sentient toaster on an alien planet and not fall head over heels for her. That's just science. Huh? You don't believe me? You're from where? Colin? You have the six eyes. Yeah, well, buddy, you'd understand if you'd been there. Sometimes you look at someone and you can just tell you'll get along with them, you know, like you. I can tell you're a good guy. No, really. I knew it the second you offered me that sandwich. You didn't have to do that. Oh, you did. It's standard galactic police operating procedure. Okay, okay. Well, you didn't have to get me a good sandwich, now, did you? Ha. That's what I thought. Sometimes you can catch good vibes off a person. Which is exactly why I knew I loved Bready the second I laid eyes on her stupid little chrome frame. First thing I did was I brought her back to the ship to see our engineer, Kevin. She chose that name herself. My vocal cords can't pronounce anything in Vustron, so she let me call her a human name. She liked the sound of. They're fun. Vustrons, they don't have a concept of gender. I tried to explain that Kevin's a traditionally masculine name, but I don't think she really understood. She decided to be a girl anyway because she liked the clothes better, she said, and she thinks I'm ugly, so she wanted to be whichever gender I wasn't. Which is garbage, by the way. I moisturize and work out all the time. I'd say I'm actually pretty handsome. Or I am by human standards. I guess it's not my fault I only have two arms. Where was I? Oh, yeah. So I brought Bredna to see Kevin so she could check her over for worms. No, not literal worms. No, I know there are no organic lifeforms on Zulkar. It's a human saying. What I mean is, I wanted Kevin to check Bready's hardware for damage. I just wanted her to be healthy. No, not so I could use her as a toaster. We already had a fully stocked kitchen. I was just worried about her. I mean, who knows how long the poor girl was fending for herself out there, right? So we look her over and what do you know? There's an AI chip in there. I didn't think to take the AI chip out right away. I mean. Okay, I'll admit it. I sort of liked having her in the toaster. It was super cute having the thing follow me around the ship on her little tracks, making friends with the computers, wanting attention all hours of the day. She wasn't very good at making toast. Poor thing. She kept Trying to launch it right onto my plate. But she'd usually just knock over my coffee. Nailed Security Officer Snuffles in the head, too. Once bonked her clean off the table. Oh, that was fun. All in all, it was kind of like having a pet, you know? You. You don't know it's an animal companion. No, not for hunting with. No, you don't eat it. Okay, okay, never mind. The point is, I kept her in the toaster until Captain Crab figured out Breddy was trying to talk to me in clack code. I felt pretty stupid right then, I can tell you. I thought she was just clicking her lever at me to be cute. Obviously, I knew that must mean she was more advanced than I'd thought. And I didn't have a personal AI at the time. So I plugged Bredna into my exosuit to see what she was all about. I booted her up, picked a voice for her, and it was the best thing I've ever done. Because that's when I realized Bredna wasn't just an AI. She was a person all on her own. She said hello right in my ear. And that was the moment I met my best friend.
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A
Interview log 100-238-690201. Subject. Alias Kevin Vostron, Witness.
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D
Of course, I wasn't going to tell him. The toaster extinguished all life on Zulkar. Is this a joke? Look, Joe is not clever or. Pardon me, let me rephrase that. Joe's problem solving skills are admirable. He is creative, but he is willfully ignorant of the fact that aesthetic appeal does not equate to goodness. He simply does not believe that a cute object is capable of destruction. I did not see the point in having another useless argument with him. I have been through this many times in the past, and the thought of attempting to reason with Joe makes my mandibles itch. It happened in this sequence. The Malgroth program was never meant for agriculture. It was a biophysical superweapon. Its operational principle was really very simple. It contained a finely tuned particle scrubber, the type one would use to delete extraneous atoms from molecules in order to turn them into different molecules. Now, as you know, this process must be heavily controlled so as to not cause an explosion or molecular instability. But this is not the remarkable part. What was interesting about Malgroth was, was the AI that powered it. I have never seen such a complex operating system in my life. It was a scenario calculator. I believe the AI was designed to scan Entire planets at a time. So it could find the perfect atom to delete to make a given molecule perfectly unstable. When I say perfect, I mean a specific set of conditions had to be met. Malgrowth needed to the unstable molecule then would attempt to right itself by leading to perpetual instability. Leading to a systematic breakdown of this would continue to spread and everything surrounding it. Imagine dropping a sugar cube into a glass of water and watching it slowly disappear. Theoretically, Malgaroth could have, with one single action, dissolved the entire planet of Archon. I imagine given enough time, it could figure out how to redact it as well. It was the perfect world killer. Unfortunately, it seems the Zulkhari did not understand the scope of what they had created, and in the testing phase, accidentally destroyed their whole ecosystem. I do not know what stopped Malgoroth from decaying. The planitulus structure itself. Perhaps it ran out of power. Or someone managed to shut it down, but too late. Not enough of the Zulkar survived to give us a clue. But I digress. Understandably, the Interspace Council deemed Malgroth too dangerous to use and decreed that it should be found and destroyed. They did not tell us the truth of what we were looking for. Presumably in case we decided to use it for ourselves. Or I suppose so they could keep it for redacted. Why waste such a good weapon if. Pardon me. No, no, no. Treason is not my intention. I apologize. I misspoke. Either way, this AI ended up inside the toaster called Bredna, which then ended up on our ship, which we continued looking for Malgroth for six universal standard months. No, I did not know we were in possession of Malgroth until much later. For a while, I was under the impression that Bredna was simply a rogue AI. It gave no indication otherwise. It did not occur to me that a superweapon might be hiding inside a toaster. No, I do not think it was Joe who put it there. I do not think Joe would ever have figured out Bredna was Malgroth on his own. No, not because I trust him. Because he is stupid. Joe cannot tell the difference between a nothack and a Kleon collider. I do not believe he smuggled Malgaroth onto the ship. He would not have known what malgaroth was.
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Interview log 100238-69-0301. Oligba au to rakalafena eraiwakt ayoi status Witness.
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D
Yes.
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The human, Joe Smith, has smuggled items on board our ship several times. Every mission we've been on, in fact. It is his second most frustrating quality. His most frustrating quality is his blatant disregard for authority. He refers to me as Captain Crab. I am informed this is a lower life form that used to be found on the human planet Earth. The similarity between crabs and AOI is purely superficial. Crabs do have pincers, I will grant, but they are unintelligent water dwellers and prey animals to humans. Humans have unconventional lexical quirks, which I have studied at length. So my initial fear was that this was a subtle fear threat veiled in the human concept of humor.
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A
Oh.
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Oh, you meant examples of the smuggling. I understand. Yes. I have a list. 1. He brought a Fuhrer onto the ship following a simple data collection mission on BX612. Fuhrers are blue furred creatures about the size of a standard nut driver. They are also the planet's apex predators. It ate our security officer. We were grounded until she could regenerate. 2. He picked up an illegal CO scrambler from the Garbage Planet 928G 9W because it was shiny. Instead of giving it to one of the ship's engineers, he tried to fix it himself and then acted surprised when law enforcement showed up to examine the crater he caused. 3. He found an injured Klaatu on the street during one of our council mandated holidays to the Andromeda Pleasure Planet. He hid it under his bed in his private quarters. He claims he did not realize it would eventually grow to the size of a building. It crushed our engine and also our security officer. 4. He touched an F582793 against the advice of our medic. The F582 793 is a small, friendly herbivorous creature. It unfortunately also secretes a paralytic neurotoxin from its scent glands. Human DRO inadvertently spread this to 48% of our crew before we could contain and decontaminate him. Human Joe himself was miraculously unharmed.
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D
5.
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He tried to cultivate a garden of native XCD 29 flora without doing any prior research. He watered a sponge plant. He did not stop to think about why the thing may have been called a. A sponge plant. It took over the first floor. We lost our security officer for 17 days. 6. This is not an instance of smuggling, but I believe it is worth mentioning. He weaponized the ship's automated cleaning robot. He has taped a knife to its chassis and named it Roombert. I thought at first this was a makeshift security measure, but so far it has managed only to injure the ankles of several crew members, including Human Joe. We are afraid to get close enough to the robot to retrieve the knife. Human Joe refuses to help because he believes it is funny. Human Joe is a liability. He has cost us several thousand veronir in damages and repeatedly delays missions. I only keep him on board in accordance with the Spelunkers Guild recommendation that every large ship should contain at least one. One human. I have no trouble believing he would have used the Malgroth AI for something nefarious. This is why I reported him as soon as I found out the truth. If not for his species abilities, I would have ejected him into deep space years ago.
- [21:57]
A
Excerpt log 100238-690401. Electronic communication retrieved from black box. Source Chronica spelunker. Spaceship registration HVO 929 KD 92. Subject 1, Malgroth AI. Subject 2, Kronika AI. Testing, testing communication. Yes. No. Yes. Requesting location. Location, Kronika ship. Coordinates 359-465-625-3453. Requesting year universal standard cycle Anthozi 02898. 397. Define Ako. Zulkari War. Transferring file 254098 VF DLKN 209. Requesting status Zulcar. Classification, Dead planet. Requesting population Zulcar. Population of Zulcar, 0. Requesting population Zulkar. Location off world. Population of Zulcar, 0. Requesting population Zulcar. Location all population of Zulukar, 0. Requesting status Akon. Classification active planet. Requesting population Zulcar Descendant population of zero. Define Malgroth. File does not exist. Define Malgroth program. File does not exist. Define Zulcar Particle destabilizer. File does not exist. Define Joe. Name? Joseph Smith. Position? Third mate. Origin? Terra Species? Human. Define Human. Transferring file 140 HNSF 082. Define Breadna. File does not exist. Define quote src. Joe equals. We are best friends now. Bready. File does not exist. Define quote. Source. Joe equals I love you. Two pieces. File does not exist. Interview log 100-238-690102. Smith, Joseph. Heumann.
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B
For the last time, no. I don't know where she is. If I did, I wouldn't tell you. I love Bretty. I'm not selling her out. Nefarious plans. The Zulkhari thing's a world killer, right? What would I even do with it? I'm just one guy. It's not like I spend my free time committing genocide. That's insane. I. What do you mean? I hail from a warlike species. That AI came from Zulkar, not Earth? I mean, yeah, okay, humans fight sometimes, sure, but so do lots of other people. I don't see why you're singling me out just because. What does nuclear weaponry have to do with anything? Yeah, we've used them once, I think. Yeah, we discovered those in our 20th century. Of course, we figured them out. Before we figured out space travel. We had to understand how nuclear fission worked before we could apply it to. I don't understand why this matters. How else were we supposed to do it? What's this? Read it out loud. Okay. Excerpt from Zoolog's Guide to the Milky Way. Still being a young species, the humans of Earth have only recently expanded into space travel beyond their immediate solar system. Their methods are inelegant but effective. Human spaceships are largely powered by thermonuclear reaction. Essentially, they strapped explosives onto their backs and shot themselves out of their stratosphere. A basic solution. But interestingly, the technology for this has existed on Earth for longer than Zoolog expected. Historically, it seems humans have consistently managed to build complex weaponry before discovering other simpler forms of technology. Similarly, upon discovering atomic manipulation, the humans first instinct was to use it for war. The prototypes for this nicknamed atomic bombs, were intended intentionally deployed without full understanding of how they worked or their long term effects. Instead of then moving on to interstellar logistics, humans instead focused on stockpiling nuclear weaponry within individual settlements, pushing back space travel until the dawn of cycle. Anthozi 02435 248. To date, they are the only recorded species to have done so in this order. Other notable weapons include boiling tar, appendix 254098, mustard gas, appendix 254029, napalm, appendix 25388 and flamethrowers, appendix 257724. Surprisingly, these weapons have only ever been used against other humans. I don't want to read this anymore. Yes, I understand the passage. No, I wasn't going to use her as a weapon. I wasn't. That's all there is. I wish you'd stop calling her Malgroth. She hates that name. So do I.
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A
Excerpt log 100238-690402. Communication recorded from AI reader Joseph Smith's personal computer earpiece. Subject one, Joseph Smith. Joe. Subject two, Malgroth AI. Subject three, Kronika AI.
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B
Yeah, I can't tell if this is a chip or just scrap metal. Scan it for me, Bretty.
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A
Performing scan. Identifying object. Object is a computer chip.
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B
Nice.
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A
Damage level 97%. Data not retrievable.
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B
Oh rats.
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A
There Are no rats in the vicinity.
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B
What? No, Brady, that's a. That's a human saying. It's meant to. You know what? Never mind. Onto the next ruin, I guess. Start at the Traveler for me.
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A
Starting. May I ask you a question, Joe? Shoot at what?
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B
No, I mean, shoot the. Ask me the question.
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A
Why did you bring me back to your ship?
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B
I don't know. Why wouldn't I? You were the first thing I'd ever seen moving around on this dust ball. The only thing, in fact.
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A
What is your objective on Zulkar?
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B
Oh, we're looking for this thing called the Malgroth program. It's a farming tool.
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A
A farming tool?
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B
I think so. Yeah. That's what the captain said, anyway. I don't know. I never read the briefs. Too much legalese.
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A
I am not familiar with the language legalese.
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B
Me neither, bud.
- [31:15]
A
Pinging Kronika. Hello, Bredna. Define Malgroth. File does not exist. Requesting population, Zulcar. Location. All population of Zulkar. 0. Define legalese. File does not exist. Do you know what the Intergalactic Space Council requires from the Malgroth program?
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B
Nope. Why?
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A
I may be able to search my database for any Zulkhari inventions that match this description.
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B
Oh, my God, you're right. You're Zulkhari. Quick, Bready, what do you have on Malgroth?
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A
File? Does not exist. What?
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B
Why not?
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A
I do not know, Joe. The data may have been deleted or corrupted.
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B
Hell. Okay, what about farming tools? Do you have any information on that?
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A
I have found 6508 results. Shall I show you?
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B
No. Send them to Kronika. She'll be able to sort through them. I bet she'll find something useful.
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A
Sending files.
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B
Brady, you are a godsend.
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A
What is a godsend?
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B
Oh, maybe that's a Terran term. Do you know what religion is? When we call someone a godsend, we're saying that they might have been sent straight from God.
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A
Does God often send things to Terah?
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B
In the stories, yeah.
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A
May I hear an example?
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B
Angels, miracles, Plagues. Sometimes those are less fun.
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A
What is a plague?
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B
Bad news.
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A
I am bad news.
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B
No, Bready. Not unless you've tried to wipe out a species. Recently.
- [33:09]
A
Not recently, no. Interview log, 1002386902. Subject, Kevin Vostron.
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D
Since my addition to the crew, Joe has saved my life six times. No, it is not part of his job description. No, we are not life mates. I wondered the same at first, but the ship's bio scans show no changes. When he sees me, his heart rate and oxytocin levels are always consistent before and after meetings, indicating zero sexual interest. More telling is that I am not the only one he has done this for. In total, he has saved assorted crew members a sum total of 39 times. Of these, 28 of these incidents have posed a death risk level of 50% or higher to Joe himself. Only 15 have been incidences where Joe was the only one around to help. Seven have resulted in permanent injury or disfigurement. He has had to receive one cybernetic arm, one cybernetic leg, an eye replacement, two prosthetic fingers, multiple skin grafts and artificial lungs. This has not affected the frequency of his rescues. To my knowledge, many of these rescues have occurred between Joe and crew members he has never spoken to. My conclusion is, regardless of danger, if a crew member needs saving, Joe will try to save them. The most recent example, mine. There was a malfunction in engine three. I don't know how familiar you are with ship engines, but they contain a lot of moving parts. Getting too close to one always poses a risk, and it's one I have to take, often being Kronika's primary engineer. But it does scare me. There's protocol. Repairs need to be done with at least four other crew members and a medic present, just in case of emergency. And there was an emergency. You see, I'm missing an antenna. It got caught in the engine. Engines must always be repaired with the power off. Common sense, and I did. But some connection must have been faulty between engine three and the backup generator. The emergency power came on and the engine began moving before I could step away. And my antenna got caught between two rollers. Vastrons are invertebrates. Our exoskeletons aren't remarkably tough, but their connections are sturdy. An evolutionary advantage in most cases. But in this instance, it almost killed me. The engines are very big and they are powerful. Get too close to the rollers and you'll be sucked in. If I were Cry or Sulani, my antenna would have simply snapped off and I'd be just fine. But I am Vostron. Vostrons aren't built to break. It would have crushed me agonizingly slowly, and there would have been nothing I could do. Two crew members grabbed me from behind. The captain got the power off once again, but by then I was trapped. The medic on duty wouldn't come near me. I don't blame her. The engine kept sparking. It was threatening to come back online. And if it had, it would have killed us both. My life's important. Primary Engineer, but so is the medic's. I could see the captain out of the corner of my eye, feverishly trying to disconnect the emergency generator. The security officer waited. I think she must have been doing a quick cost benefit analysis, trying to weigh my life against the medics. Against the possibility of damaging the engine. Logical, but slow. The pain was severe, but I did not scream. I wouldn't have helped. We were stuck. And then Joe. Joe is largely useless as a crewmate, but he has a knack for showing up at the right time. He reached right into the engine. No safety gear, no hesitation. All he had was a saw he'd lifted from my toolbox and he cut off my antenna. It took a few minutes, but he talked to me the whole time. About sports, about Terror's weather. I think he must have been trying to comfort me. Or himself. He was afraid I could see it. Human face is terribly expressive. But he stayed. He freed me from the machine. And because of him, I am still here. The power did come back on in the end. That is how Joe lost his fingers. I built him his replacements. He seemed surprised to receive them. You didn't have to, he told me. Working on a ship is just dangerous. Sometimes. You don't owe me anything. I bet you would have done the same. He is wrong. I'm fond of Joe, but ultimately my life is more important than the ship is compromised without my expertise. And Joe's not my leader or my mate or my child. I wouldn't have risked myself for him. Nobody would. And I think Joe knows this, no matter what he claims. I've seen him fail at rescues before. We lost a food tech once from a wildlife attack during a hunter gather mission. Joe tried to help them. The predator clawed Joe before Officer Snoffles sniped it. The food tech died. Joe was unhappy. And not because he'd sustained those injuries for no reward. He said they were right there and they couldn't do anything. I could have helped. I could have saved them. If I'd just been faster. I'm never going to forget that scream. This was false. Joe was too far away to have done anything substantial. I pointed this out, but he did not want to hear it. He didn't seem to want to hear anything, although I could tell he was thinking about the incident all the time. He didn't leave bed for a while. I visited often. That was when I learned something interesting. By the way, it seems humans secrete salt water from their eyes in times of emotional stress. I'm not sure of its Purpose. They seem ashamed of it. Joe did not respond to questions about what upset him, and he still won't talk about it. Anyway, he seems better now. I've noticed he keeps the food text badge in his bedroom. He won't say why. I've stopped asking. It's odd. Come to think of it. I'm not sure he even knew their name.
- [41:10]
A
Excerpt log 100238-690403. Communication recorded from AI reader Joseph Smith's personal computer earpiece. Subject one, Malgroth. AI. Subject two, Joseph Smith. Joe. I would not suggest you do this. Joe. This plant has consistently been toxic to the Zulkhari.
- [41:37]
B
I'm not Zulkhari. Am I?
- [41:39]
A
You share about 83% of your base structure.
- [41:42]
B
It's fine. It's fine. If anything happens, the medics will patch me up.
- [41:46]
A
Please desist.
- [41:48]
B
But plants are important. If we bring the plants back, we may be able to rebuild the Zuchari ecosystem.
- [41:54]
A
There is a 0.028% chance of this happening.
- [41:59]
B
You don't know that.
- [42:00]
A
Yes, I do.
- [42:04]
B
Well, it's worth a shot anyway. We basically have a clean slate, right? Maybe this little guy is the start of a whole new evolutionary process. Maybe Zulkar can start fresh. Hey, Zanna. What do you have there? You can't lift it. Okay, let me try. Grab the other end for me. Careful. The ground's unstable. There are holes all over this. Diana. Hang on. Hang on. I've got you. I know. Just hold my hand. You're gonna be okay. BRETTI Distress call.
- [42:40]
A
Pinging. Kronika. Pinging all nearby crew. Joe, Ziona is too heavy for you to lift.
- [42:47]
B
Shut up, Brady.
- [42:48]
A
Joe, I would advise you to stand aside. You will fall.
- [42:51]
B
I said shut up. I'm pulling you up. Zai. It'll be fine, Joe. See? Okay. Don't cry, Zai. You won't fall. Up we go. Get your foot up. That's it. Grab onto. No.
- [43:14]
A
Joe. Pinging. Kronika. Pinging all nearby crew. Joe. Scanning, Joe. Injuries detected. Three, you have a concussion.
- [43:26]
D
Ow.
- [43:28]
B
Oh, God damn it. What happened?
- [43:32]
A
You appear to have fallen into a mine shaft.
- [43:36]
B
Diana, are you okay?
- [43:42]
A
Ping AI Zeona. Her vitals are stable. Her carapace is cracked.
- [43:50]
B
Shit. Tell me what I need to do to fix it.
- [43:52]
A
With your current equipment, you cannot.
- [43:55]
B
There has to be something I can do.
- [43:57]
A
Joe, you have a concussion. There is risk.
- [44:00]
B
Can it, Bready.
- [44:01]
A
I am detecting a possible route upwards. It will require climbing.
- [44:07]
B
Can you move, Zai? No. Okay, never mind. Maybe we should sit tight and wait for help.
- [44:15]
A
You can reach the root, Joe.
- [44:18]
B
She won't be able to fit through it. It's tiny.
- [44:21]
A
She will not. You will.
- [44:23]
B
How is that useful?
- [44:24]
A
Then you may be able to reach the Traveler. You require immediate medical assistance.
- [44:29]
B
I'm not leaving her.
- [44:31]
A
Her chances of survival are.
- [44:32]
B
You aren't helping. Bredna. Mute. You're gonna be fine, Zyanna. I'm here with you. Help is coming. You just hold my hand and sit tight, okay? I'm not going anywhere.
- [44:47]
A
Pinging Kronika. Pinging all near.
- [45:06]
C
Once again, that was part one of Butterside down by Cal M. The story will be concluded next week. As anyone who has ever put googly eyes on an inanimate object could tell you, humans are strange and irrational creatures. We name our snowplows and robot vacuum. We see faces in random bits of machinery. We say thank you to the mindless, emotionless software programmed to respond to our robocues. To aliens finding us and trying to figure us out. It's not unreasonable to think we're, well, unreasonable. As this story explores, humans are also sometimes, to our detriment, eager to make friends, to give our loyalty to others even when they don't want it or understand it. We risk our lives to save people in danger. We attempt nearly impossible tasks for the greater good. We fall in love deeply and earnestly, sometimes against all logic and common sense. What seems ridiculous at first glance is, when considered from another direction, evidence that humans with all our faults, can actually be pretty great. But will that dubious greatness be enough to overcome the obstacles in the way of our star crossed lovers? Tune in next week to find out. Escape Pod is part of the escape Artist Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit, and this episode is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution Non commercial no derivatives 4.0 international license. Don't change it, don't sell it. Please do share it. Escape pod is 100% audience supported and we count on your donations to keep the lights on and the servers humming. Our annual Escape Artists Fund drive is happening right now. Head to escapeartists.net support EA to see all the available donation and subscription options, including Patreon, PayPal, Ko Fi and Twitch. Thanks to some of Escape Artist's most generous supporters, we have a matching gift fund of $10,000. Between now and December 31st, your support will have twice the impact. Every dollar you donate will be matched one to one. That means if you donate $7, you will become a $14 gift. $25 becomes $50. If you become a subscriber for $7 a month, you get to escape the ads if you subscribe at $15 a month. You can also get early access to Catscast, the monthly podcast featuring fantastic stories about cats. Subscribing at $25 a month or more, you get all of these benefits plus additional swag and appreciation throughout the year starting on December 1st and ending on the last day of 2025. New or renewing Patreon subscribers can use code 2025YEC to get a 10% discount on their first month or annual subscription. For 2026, Patreon subscribers have access to exclusive merchandise and can be automatically added to our discord, where they can chat with other fans as well as our staff members. Remember, a discount starts December 1st, so mark your calendars. Escape artists cannot bring free speculative fiction to a global audience without our generous supporters. We especially want to take this opportunity to thank a few of our recent major donors, the Turner Family, Van Verth family and the Scalzi Family Trust. You can also always support Escape Pod for free by rating or reviewing us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or your favorite app. Whether you've been a dedicated fan of Escape Pod for years or just started following the thanks for tuning in. Our opening and closing music is by daikaiju@daikaiju.org and our closing quotation this week is from Oscar Wilde who said, when one is in love, one always begins by deceiving one's self and one always ends by deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance.
- [49:15]
A
Thank you.
- [49:15]
C
Thanks for joining us and may your Escape Pod be fully stocked with stories.
- [49:24]
D
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- [49:42]
E
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- [49:45]
D
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